MDOT plans roadwork in Woodstock

The Maine Department of Transportation will repair a deteriorating retaining wall on Route 26 across from the Woodstock ball fields this summer, selectmen learned last week.

And next year, MDOT plans a paving and limited improvement project for Route 232 from Route 26 to the bridge at Rumford Point.

“MDOT is concerned the wall might fall into the road,” Town Manager Vern Maxfield said after the meeting.

The repair calls for drilling “earth ties” through the wall and into the ledge behind to hold it. The wall would then be coated with a concrete mix, said Maxfield.

The project, scheduled for June, will require one-way traffic for about a week to 10 days. A traffic light will be placed at the site, which is just south of the ball fields.

Selectmen also asked MDOT to look at the guard rail across the road from the wall, out of concern that it is in poor condition.

The Route 232 project would include an overlay of pavement, as well as new culverts and ditching in some locations, Maxfield said.

MDOT plans to hold public hearings before the work proceeds.

In other business, the board took a preliminary look at 2012 municipal budget figures prepared by Maxfield and learned of an informational meeting about the state’s new building code.

The meeting, offered for area contractors, will take place Feb. 6 at 5 p.m. at the Woodstock town office.

The early budget proposal appears overall to be good news for taxpayers.

Maxfield’s preliminary figures show a slight decline in the budget, but an increase in the amount to be raised from taxes (due to lesser amounts from revenue funds).

However, thanks in part to the added valuation from the new Spruce Mountain LLC wind project, the mil rate could decline from the current $12.85 per thousand of valuation to about $11.28.

The board will consider the budget in more detail at its next meeting on Feb. 7. Town meeting this year is March 26.